GRETNA GREEN COUPLES

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 June 1936, Page 12

GRETNA GREEN COUPLES

CARETAKER AND £2O FEES. LONDON, May 7. Gretna- Green marriages were described yesterday to the Committee on the Marriage Law of Scotland by Mr G. B. Mackie, owner of the famous blacksmith’s forge where they take place, and by Mr Richard Rennison, the caretaker who performs the marriage ceremony. The Committee is sitting at Edinburgh under the chairmanship of Lord Morison.

Mr Mackie said that his father went to Gretna as a farmer, bought the Ciretna estate in 1890, and turned the blacksmith’s shop into a museum in 1900. The relics in the museum were collected by his father. When the estate was bought it was just a blacksmith’s shop.

Lord Morison: How do you, come to employ someone to conduct the marriages?—lt has always been the custom to have a caretaker. He is responsible for the weddings. The more the caretaker got out of the weddings. Mr Mackie continued, the more he got for himself. He was also given a commission on the souvenirs sold. Apart from keeping tho register, witness himself had nothing to do with the weddings. Mr Rennison, the caretaker,, had- been with them tor eight years. Asked what Mr Rennison had been previously, witness said it was difficult to say. He thought he was a “Jack of all trades.” He was paid commissions on charges for admission to the museum and the small fee for the marriage certificate. Witness had nothing to do with what he got for performing marriages, Sometimes he got nothing, sometimes £26.

USE OF WORD*- “PRIEST.” People should not think that the certificate they received from the caretaker completed the ceremony, said Mr Mackie, because they were told to register the marriage. When it was pointed out that on the certificates given to parties who were married the caretaker signed himself as a priest, Mr Mackie replied that he was a priest so far as. the blacksmith’s shop -was concerned, Ho did not agree that the word priest was misleading. The caretaker was not dressed as a priest. The business rap very peacefully. Some people “squealed” now and again, but most people seemed very happy about it.. Mr R. Rennison, who is 46, stated that after the parties had declared before witnesses that they were both single persons, and that one or other had been resident in Scotland for 21 days, he declared them married and gave them a blue certificate. The marriage was entered in a register and the parties were instructed that tliey must have the marriage registered at Dumfries within three months.

The marriages were conducted when the parties arrived, by day or night. Before going to Qretna in 1926 he was a saddler and ironmonger and was also in .the boot traded He started in Gretna as a saddler and then opened a cafe. He wgs engaged as caretaker by Mr Mackie in 1927. He agreed that an increase in the number of coincided with a gregt .deal of Press publicity. Witnesses w*ere paid 2/6. The usual fee for a mgrriagd was £1In reply to Bailie Jean Roberts, Rennison said he received' the marriage fee after deducting expenses. He was not a money-grabber. The expenses included 5/- for the witnesses and payment for three certificates and turnstile charges.

Regarding the word “priest” on the form, Mr Rennison said he knew that he was not a priest, In the past few years he hail been scoring out the word “liriest.”